Transcendence
by ToTheSkye
Summary: A meteorite has crashed in western USA and Agent Coulson knows of only one soul to trust with studying it. After all the last time he left the matter untouched a man - driven to greed and madness by it - died in front of his face. But this scientist isn't exactly happy with the situation.


It's been nearly a year since Agent Coulson has seen the old dance studio, its once decrepit exterior remade to look like an ivory palace. With such an extravagant appearance one might assume its owner was the showman sort, with money to spare and little inhibition in displaying it, but he knows better. So he lets Agent Fitz, Agent Simmons, and Skye relish a moment in awe at the sight. It's almost cute.

When that moment is up he snaps them back to attention by shutting the trunk of their temporary vehicle - a snazzy white Landaulet that Skye had picked out after "earning" the right to choose once and awhile how they got around.

Fitz is the first to react, shuffling swiftly around the $1.3M car to take the briefcase already in Coulson's hand. Coulson looks him dead in the eye and he can tell the engineer is thinking back to their conversation when he was first handed the briefcase in Oregon because Fitz is starting to look even more antsy than before. "I know, don't touch it until you say so."

"Good boy." Coulson gives him the smile he's known for and waves him off like a trained puppy.

Skye matches pace with him as the group walks up the small stairway and to the mansion's front door. "So, this person is supposed to have been involved with a similar case?"

"Yes," Coulson pauses to reach out and ring the doorbell before he continues. The low three-note melody plays from within the home and he hears Skye huff in recognition of the tune. "Ms. Duvall was in fact part of the entire Eidolon dilemna."

Almost immediately the ornate door opens atuomatically and Coulson leads them inside. The interior is a stark contrast to its counterpart, with sharp angles and monochrome in every corner. The paintings, however, are part of a close friend's old gallery and stick out as oil pastel sore thumbs.

Heels click on hard floor and from the central staircase a tall ginger woman climbs down. He remembers seeing her in a pair of overalls and a large t-shirt last as the building of the west wing of the house was still in progress and much like her home it's a complete 180 degree turn with her current appearance. A dark blue blouse with lighter colored frills, white suit pants, and a matching white blazer.

"Phil, it's been a long while." Her voice carries over the long distance, bouncing off the walls. It's naturally high pitched but her tone curls the words, making them darker.

"I know how much you enjoyed my company."

"I enjoy it when my friend _calls_ before showing up on my doorstep." But the woman forces a smile and holds out her hand to shake with the agent's. She turns to his three teammates and looks them over with warm hazel eyes. Out of the corner of Coulson's eye he can see Skye's face lighting up. "I don't believe any of us have met."

"Oh!"

Everyone's attention shifts to Skye. Her outburst is followed by the consultant peering closer at the red haired woman. "I remember you now! You were at the meteorite crash site in Indiana when that freak explosion happened."

"Actually it was no accident." The woman remarks dryly, lips setting into a thin line. This makes Skye's eyebrows knit together.

"History aside," Coulson interjects. "Trinity is the only expert in this particular field that can be trusted. Trinity, these are Agents Fitz and Simmons, and another consultant of ours, Skye."

"A bit young."

"It can't be helped."

"I'm right _here_."

* * *

"Fitz, you can open the case now." Trinity has just led them into her personal laboratory when the engineer rushes to stand next her and places the sleek black briefcase on the table. Her eyes narrow as he unlatches it and for a moment when it opens all she can think of is the question she's been considering for months. _Are there more Eidolonites on a trajectory with Earth?_

She could never bring herself to ask him, and even though Chronus can read her mind he noticed that she still debated on whether it was worth asking and decided to leave her unasked inquiry unanswered. But there sat a meteorite the size of a cue ball, similar in ashy brown color to the stone on her necklace but raw and uncut. Instinctively she reaches up to the jewel piece in question, stroking the polished stone embedded on it.

_Chronus, can you recognize another of your kind without contact?_

_Unfortunately no._

"Coulson tells us you know what it is, why it's done wha-"

Simmons doesn't get to finish her statement because Trinity turns sharply on her heel to face Agent Coulson. "What it's _done_?"

Coulson matches her poker face evenly. She's waiting to see if it's worth getting angry, if he's handled the situation or not. "Minimal collateral damage, very few witnesses, and it's refused to take a new host. We're lucky."

"Keep it that way." Trinity walks over to a slightly dustier section of the lab. Not unused attic dusty, she graces this section with her presence on enough occasions to naturally rifle up the air, but the film is thin and present enough to evidence her lack of usage of the space for at least a month. From the corner she takes up a pair of latex gloves and a long, thin electronic device that she received most recently through a request to S.H.I.E.L.D.

As she walks back over Simmons pipes up once more, mirroring Fitz's position at Trinity's side. "It's unlike anything we've seen ourselves. The meteorite seemed to control the man though there's no trace of sentience we can visibly measure aside from electromagnetic frequencies similar to those of spectres."

"Not that they exist." Fitz doesn't let his gaze drift from the meteorite, hands in his pockets.

"Actually Fitz," Simmons leans back to peer at her partner from around Trinity. Trinity turns her head slightly and catches the rather adorable smile on her face. "In the last decade alone there has been more credible, scientific evidence that ghosts may in fact exist."

"You can't possibly be telling me you believe in that nonsense."

"We've moved far beyond it just being _nonsense_, and unless you can devise a way to disprove every shred of evidence found to support the existence of ghosts I-"

"So you're saying Kevin was controlled by a ghost? How juvenile."

"I never said that."

"They don't control their hosts." Fitz allows his features to scrunch up but Trinity doesn't pause to explain, reaching behind her neck to unlatch her necklace. She does however let it slide that Coulson didn't bother mentioning that it once had a host that she could only presume was presently dead. Just this once. "Although it's undoubtable that this Eidolon manipulated him, fed him the wrong message."

From behind her Skye raises a fair question. "How exactly do you know this? Most people wouldn't have clearance for this kind of information." Her final sentence seems to linger in the air, as though waiting for Coulson or another to ammend it.

Trinity holds up the necklace by one end, turning to let the entire group see. The material is a thin but strong gold chain, with a thick bezel setting to hold the cabochon cut meteorite in its place. "Because I happen to be a host. Chronus..."

_Pardon me, I didn't introduce myself earlier because Trinity still held doubts on the outcome of this meeting._

A silken disembodied voice fills the air, formal and masculine in tone though the sound was surreal. Even Trinity still finds it odd, as most communication with Chronus takes place in her own mind.

Before anyone can reply Trinity lays the necklace face down on top of the meteorite in the case, careful not to touch the foreign object even with gloves. "In as short a summary as possible: these specific meteorites were a part of a larger meteoroid cluster on a collision course with our planet. Being only an approximate 250 feet wide the meteoroid that first crashed in Indiana broke into two smaller pieces, leaving only two palm sized chunks left. It's actually miraculous that this one is so-"

_**Silence!**_

The group winces collectively and Trinity turns her head to look at the meteorite in question. This voice is shrill and of a higher pitch than Chronus. The air around the meteorite starts to mist over and with some sheer amount of luck Trinity manages to grab Chronus' chain before it freezes over. The new voice continues in a language she barely recognizes from her initial encounter with Chronus and the intensity of it increases to the point that most everyone present shrinks back in pain.

Simmons lashes out to close the briefcase, likely from a small notion that it might help dull the sound. But oddly enough the voice stops after a second of the case being closed. Trinity swiftly replaces her necklace around herself, and she can feel several sets of eyes on her though it doesn't quite register why.

_Breathe deeply, you're no good of a host if you pass out from lack of oxygen._

She follows Chronus' advice - only now does does it dawn on her that her face is drawn tight and her eyes are wide as physically possible without popping out of her head. Her heart rate evens out and the first thing she can think of is to keep her hands busy while she thinks of a solution to this Eidolon's anger.

"Out, all of you." The closest bodies are Fitz and Simmons and so they receive the roughest treatment as she literally drags them from her lab, although Skye is subdued as well. Despite her need for solitude she knows Coulson will stay no matter what she says, though for good reason. "Chronus, tell us everything you know about her. It. _This thing._ You have three minutes."

* * *

As Trinity makes her rounds around the room preparing equipment the Eidolon relays every speck of information it has in such a concise manner that Coulson has to smile at the way the geologist has trained this higher tier alien lifeform like a husband or a son.

_In our native language she is known as Mevapake. As you two know by now we as a select group in our species are given a mutation that defines our lives and allows us to perform feats beyond even the average specimens of our own race, and hers is the shifting of molecules through the different states of matter. Freezing and melting things, though in a less basic sense than you might think. _

"Two and a half." Coulson wonders for less than a few seconds why Trinity feels compelled to count out his remaining time. Though he's been keeping track himself, and it's one reason why he decides to drop the thought.

_She passed along the message that her fleet was sent to retrieve my soul stone, this meteorite. However, Mevapake has also informed me that she knows of my initial intentions for coming to Earth with Ahtmev._

Trinity stiffens. It takes Coulson a moment to make the connection between the names Ahtmev and Thanatos. Thanatos, Chronus' counterpart and the reason the Indiana explosion came to happen.

_She believes I'm a traitor, which is the true reason for her outburst moments ago. Mevapake stated that at least one other fleet is scheduled to land here on this planet, and that her partner is Sythac. You may liken his mutation to that of your "Hulk", take that as you will._

Walking around the central table, Coulson begins a circular pace while also keeping at least one eye turned to the briefcase housing their menacing Eidolonite. "Is there any reason to believe the others could turn violent?"

_Sythac is not one for fighting. It's blessedly ironic in our case. As for Mevapake I believe I could persuade her into not using her hosts against us. She'll still hate me, however._

"Why not just have Trinity tell her?"

Trinity herself drops the electronic device in her hand, and while she bends down to pick it up Coulson turns to look at Skye - surprisingly accompanied by the Fitzsimmons duo. "Hosts can only be attached to one Eidolon. Coming into contact with another can lead to catastrophic consequences for the host."

Simmons raises a hand, mouth agape as she tries out versions of the question in her mind. "How catastrophic?"

"Only one host has tried taking two Eidolons for his own." Trinity doesn't face the group. He sees that she won't let herself look at them, and he also knows why. "We believe the ultimate outcome is different depending on which Eidolonites are taken, but in the end that host's body painted an entire city block red."

* * *

The sun is finally setting when Trinity is left with the job of properly housing her guests for the night. They had spent the majority of the day asking more questions than recieving answers, especially Trinity. Khione - as she decided to name her - was very unlike Chronus. And while Chronus _had_ succeeded in pacifying their newest friend Khione was hardly an ally.

"There are only two guest rooms, however the farthest is outfitted with a king sized bed and the nearest has two twin sized beds." Trinity pauses at the end of the hall and motions to each room.

Skye reaches out to grab Simmons' arm, already inching towards the far room. "I'll bunk with Simmons." Trinity takes a moment to think over this sudden decision, and when it hits her she cracks a smile.

Coulson watches them go with a less than happy expression and Fitz glances over at the higher level agent, close to protesting. Coulson happens to catch Fitz's look and the engineer looks away, scratching the back of his neck. "Right. Thank you again Trinity for allowing us to stay in your home. The rest of our team should be arriving tomorrow and we'll be out of your hair by noon."

"As long as nothing's broken you can make yourselves at home." Trinity slips past them to unlock each of the bedroom doors. She has just let Skye and Simmons into their temporary room when she hears slow, heavy footsteps approach from behind her.

"Damn it, Trinity, tell me when you're having a sleepover!" Macomb Duvall comes thundering down the hall with a sly smile on his aging face. "Especially with young fillies such as they are." Trinity places a hand over her face, feeling heat creep over her shoulders and face. Logically Macomb should have been in town still with a few of his other friends that refused to embrace old age, but like always he defied logic and reasoning.

By the time Macomb joins Trinity outside of Skye and Simmons' room Coulson and Fitz have emerged to investigate the hullabaloo. Coulson has on a smirky grin that puts him second on her list of people she wants to punch. But in order to stay on his good side she grins and balls her fists, hoping her housemate detects the amount of warning venom she lets seep into her words. "Macomb please go back to your room."

"And miss out on the party?"

"Pa. Go to bed." Macomb chuckles and backs up in respect of her wishes. He waves good night to the guests before retreating as quickly as he came - though everyone can hear his thomping gait even after he's been gone a minute.

Trinity turns slowly, almost painfully, and holds up a hand to the agents she has opened her home to. "_Don't_ ask."

* * *

It's been less than an hour and Skye is already starting to doubt her choice on a roommate. She lays on the bed she and Simmons will have to share with a holographic tablet laid before her, and all the while Simmons continually talks about one scientific thing or another from the bathroom connected to their room.

It was only when the topic shifted dramatically - to Skye at least, and she figures Simmons has picked up on the fact that Skye was never contributing to their one-way conversation - that Skye becomes interested. "Why do you think Trinity wouldn't show us what her Eidolon could do?"

"Maybe it's something intimate." Skye struggles to sit up onto her elbows, smiling at her roommate as she walks out of the bathroom. "Oh, whoa. Seriously? You have pajamas that look like a pant suit?"

Simmons waves off the criticism. The biochemist drops onto the bed beside Skye, making sure to bounce around a little. "You never know when someone, or some_thing_, could wake you up in the night. I'd like to look presentable. And anyhow, what could be so intimate that she avoid telling us what Chronus can do?" Skye opens her mouth to say something but Simmons makes a small gasping sound, cutting her off. "Well wait, Khione prefers to freeze things and so she was named after the Greek goddess of snow and ice. Chronus was the god of time, so it therefore _must_ have something to do with controlling time. But to what extent I wonder."

Skye manages to catch most of Simmons' monologue and after taking a moment she sits up entirely on the bed. "Exactly. I have a right mind to go ask her to show us what she can do with that meteorite."

"Eidolonite. And that may not be a good idea. It's not very polite to barge in on our hostess when she's trying to sleep."

"Pfft, fine." Skye stands up with her tablet in hand, powering it down and placing it gingerly into her jeans' pocket. "So, what do you think Trinity's going to do with Khione? I mean, I know she said she would take care of it but that leaves quite a lot up to the imagination."

Simmons shrugs at this. "She mentioned calling in a friend after you and Fitz left the room to eat. I don't know who, but Coulson said it might be risky. Of course he let her message them anyway, so maybe if we're lucky we'll get to meet them."

"Maybe." The words have barely left Skye's lips when a loud crash penetrates the air. Both women are at attention instantly, and when they enter the hallway Coulson is already halfway to the stairs with Fitz waiting at their bedroom door.

"Everyone alright?" Fitz looks more shaken up than his fellow agents even though Simmons is a close second.

The girls nod their consent and as a group they slowly follow Coulson's footsteps. They haven't gone a yard when a figure steps out from the corner, standing around Coulson's height and momentarily making Skye believe their leader had returned with no news.

The last thing Skye can think of is how bright blonde Coulson's hair looks now.

* * *

Counting the lapse of time has become Trinity's trademark over the years. On average it takes her four minutes every morning to cook breakfast, two to prepare four strips of bacon and two where the bacon is cooking in her microwave. It takes her half of an hour to persuade her grandfather, dear and sweet old Macomb to go out and eat with his friends from various bingo nights and stereotypical senior activites.

Ever since the day Trinity agreed to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant she has trained herself to take only three seconds to assess a situation.

One. The sound is definitely that of a door being smashed open, possibly into pieces.

Two. Beneath that crash is a thunder of boots, which is hard to discern through the walls of her house but not impossible. She knows her home better than the back of her hand.

Three. It is out of instinct that she has opened the door to her room, letting the noise in as it reverberates through the halls. One unimstakable word reaches her ears as it is spoken like a command.

"... Meteorite!"

She has no idea if these intruders know where her lab is. If they know the seventeen digit passcode required to open the vault that is being used to temporarily house Khione. If they even _need_ the bloody code because of some unforeseen tool that could simply blow a hole in her precious laboratory and render the security system pointless.

But she does know that if worse comes to worst, if she can't make it in time, if shit hits the theoretical fan, she has an extra fifteen seconds to ruin these jackasses' plot.

Trinity takes off after three seconds pass and makes a mad dash for the back of her home. The rumble of footsteps stays consistent in intensity, likely from the band of intruders seeking her in her bed. Perhaps they planned to force her compliance.

The lab door is flung open and the red haired geologist crosses the room in a matter of seconds. "Fourteen... Fifteen... Sixteen..." She flips Chronus' necklace over so the scanner beside the safe's keypad can read the hexagonal grid etched into its stone face.

"Seventeen..." The door swings open and Trinity fumbles to open the suitcase, blessedly grateful that she had the meteorite covered in a thick cloth blanket. Just as she closes the safe a gunshot rings out and a metallic _twang_ in her left ear sets her nerves off.

_Pause._

"Zero." Her voice hardens, as do her movements. Trinity leaps across the room in three or so bounds.

"One." She rips the gun free from immobile hands, wrenching them so that she can hear the bones snapping. Subconsciously she wishes they had broken.

"Two." Looking into cold brown eyes Trinity pulls the trigger, walking away even as the bullet penetrates the random stranger's brain.

_Resume._

Trinity begins to run again as time continues, shoving the small meteorite into the pockets of her jacket. The staccato shriek from her laboratory won't bother her until the entire ordeal is over. Her priority is finding Macomb, finding Coulson and his team. She takes every alternative route she knows in order to avoid being seen but they're too smart.

"Hello Miss Duvall." The three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and one consultant lay in an unconscious pile on the far side of the room. She knows they're not dead because Agent Fitz is snoring up a storm. Their leader stands at the end of Macomb's bed, with two of his goons holding down her grandfather. Macomb gets up the courage to give her a sad smile.

"Let him go or I'll make you regret setting foot on my property."

Their leader shakes his head at her, holding up his right hand to stroke his chin. Trinity notices a silver ring on his finger with a large diamond. "I don't believe you'll want to risk that. I know that you can manipulate time and that you don't like wasting that skill. But how can you be sure that I don't have an ace up my sleeve?"

This situation wasn't looking good for her, and she could tell this man was taking full advantage of it. She wills Coulson to wake up suddenly and save her sorry ass. She prays the rest of his team whomever they may be would swoop in from nowhere and _again_ save her skin. Because weekly self-defense lessons from a private coach could only go so far.

"What's the matter, Daughter Time can't change what's already happened?" Trinity wants to rip out his throat but with a gun trained on herself, her grandfather, and her guests that can't happen.

_Forward, two minutes._

In an instant Macomb's bedroom is gone, no longer exists to her. Trinity sees nothing and everything as Chronus' power pulls her from her position in the present time and moves her gingerly along the time stream until she finds herself standing in Macomb's room, now empty.

_Pause_.

She realizes that she's understimated them, and now with time frozen once more she reels around to face exactly what she expected: another intruder. Once again she faces a man with a gun aimed at her skull, and once again she shoots them through and takes his weapon as a prize.

"_One._" Her voice is filled with hatred and impatience and Trinity practically leaps down the hallway.

"_Two... Three_." She takes the stairs three at a time, hazel eyes locked on the front door that stands ajar. She just manages to register that a boot is still visible in the doorway and it sends a new wave of motivation through her system.

"_Four... Five... Six._" Trinity throws open the door and fires the last shot in her first gun into the first foreign head she sees. It takes one second for her to switch guns and properly aim and in an instant she's dispatched the unmoving form of the man carrying Simmons and Skye on his shoulders.

"_Seven... Eight._" Coulson's captor is a man that must have been their driver, but she doesn't care that his face is unfamiliar. She cares that he's that last one to take out.

"N-Nine..." Blondie isn't in sight. Neither is Macomb.

"T... Pa..." Pin pricks and salt water forming in her eyes doesn't make the search any easier. The idea that she might not be able to save her grandfather shifts her entire thought process. She loses her track of time. Shouts from behind her speak a thousand words, all meaning the same thing.

"Your time is up sweetheart."

Trinity reels around, gun trained in the direction of Blondie's voice. He stands far to the side with Macomb writhing in his grasp and muttering his Old Man of the South jargin. It's such a typical hostage situation and she feels like this is no better than before. Maybe it's her emotions that are besting her, maybe she never had a chance. Maybe she's way in over her head.

Two gunshots ring out, yet Trinity only recalls tapping the trigger once. Blondie has a hole between his eyes and a hole in his hand. The latter happens a slight second before the former, causing him to drop the gun as he dies. A hand steadies her by the shoulder from behind and its twin gently takes her shooting arm, pressing its thumb into her wrist so that she can't fire again. But Trinity can't get up the nerve to shoot regardless and she leans back onto her new friend, thoroughly satisfied that the night could not get any crazier.

* * *

Despite the absolute hell S.H.I.E.L.D. puts his family through Macomb Duvall can't help but like them. He's sitting on the lawn in an old plastic lawn chair - the kind people really only see in trailer parks and old movies nowadays - chatting up Skye and Leo like there's no tomorrow. And for awhile during the previous night he really believed he might not live to see that day.

"No way, Fitz snores in his sleep?"

"It's not exactly _uncommon_. I bet even you snore every now and then." Leo seems to like Macomb as much as the old man enjoys his company, and he offers the bowl of pretzels to the scientist. "Don't mind if I do."

Skye scoffs and swipes a pretzel for herself, stuffing it into her mouth. "I don't snore. Well anyway, what happened next Mr. Duvall?"

"Oh you don't have to call me that sugar." Macomb leans back in his chair and looks back towards his home. Trinity stands in the doorway with Phil and her scowl is more prominent than normal. _This won't end well_. "But once my baby doll realizes she needs to change tactics she vanishes-" The old man snaps his fingers dramatically. "Then ol' Ludwig von Attitude starts to fall for her trap."

"Wait, she just disappeared?"

"That's right. She can do things like that. So she disappears and we're all carted out of the house as quickly as they can manage. But just as the last egghead reaches the open air _Boom Boom Ba-Boom!_" Macomb leaps to his feet, shaking his hands and spooking his captive audience. "Down they go. She's taken out his lackies and she would've taken out the big brute holding me if he hadn't been in fact using me as bait. That's when you're lovely friends arrive on the scene and save the day."

"Oh they're used to having me finish the job." Agent May and Jemma have walked up behind Macomb, though Jemma immediately crosses the grass to stand beside Leo. May taps Macomb's shoulder and motions towards where Coulson and Trinity are wrapping up a conversation. "Regrettably it's time for us to leave now."

Macomb smiles faintly at his granddaughter's look of discomfort. He climbs to his feet - admittedly with some aid from Skye - and gives the young woman a hug. "Oh I'm certain I'll see you all again someday. Seems like every other year these things crash land on our soil." He shakes Leo's hand with a firm grasp despite his age. "And you, sir. I expect to hear from you on your exploits in the field. Humor a man in old age."

Five minutes later the agents are all packed and driving off into the city. Macomb and Trinity stand in the driveway watching them depart, but Trinity is the first to move back towards the house. Neither want to bother with the lawn chairs and once the door is closed behind them Macomb ushers Trinity towards her bedroom. She doesn't say much until he's tucking her into the covers. "Blondie had an Eidolonite."

"Really?" This catches Macomb by surprise, but he doesn't let it bother him much. Like the loving grandfather he is Macomb fluffs up her pillow before continuing. "So, what did Agent Good Cop decide to do with the two new finds?"

"He said I could give Khione to Caterina. He remembers her from the initial incident and he actually trusts her." Trinity lays back, closing her eyes with a huff. "Hypnos, however, will be accompanying Coulson back to the same S.H.I.E.L.D. site that Thanatos is being held."

"Sounds like a good plan." Nothing more is said for a while and Macomb leans over to kiss Trinity's forehead. "Sleep well my little cherub. I'll handle Cat when she gets here."

The old man gets up to leave and keeps her bedroom door cracked. He passes through the entrance hall and pauses beside a large oil portrait of a young man in a work suit with thick glasses. The very sight of it makes him laugh. "Oh, my dear boy. If only that bastard hadn't brought you into this all, I'd have some help with our little angel."

* * *

"So, how was your field trip?"

"It was actually pretty great, Ward. We partied hard all night and kicked ass."

"That's not what Coulson reported."

"It's called _sarcasm._"

"Fitz told me you all passed out."

"Yeah, but Fitz snores like a walrus."

"It's a normal function of sleep, Skye!"

"Fitz snores?"

"Yep. And Simmons wears pajamas with a suit on it."

"_Skye!_"

"Remind me never to let you near me when we're sleeping out in the field."

"Pfft, don't be paranoid... I already know you have a therapeutic pillow you need to sleep."

"You _little_-!"

* * *

**A/N: ** This is an entirely raw and uncut document that I may regret leaving in such a state. But after spending all of yesterday watching kids dressed up in Avengers costumes I decided to just post it. Is it weird that out of at least 20 kids dressed in Marvel not a single one was Thor? Despite the fact that T:TDW comes out next month? I thought it was strange.

This is the first in a series of one-shots revolving around Trinity and the Eidolonites, so look out for more in the future.


End file.
